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In India where there are dozens of languages, this plays out interestingly... Granted, in few indian languages 'M' sound is not there.. but it uses even more b

In India where there are dozens of languages, this plays out interestingly... Granted, in few indian languages 'M' sound is not there.. but it uses even more basic sound 'aa'(as in used by babies earlier than 'm' sound) e.g. Aai in Marathi etc - or a similar Baa in Gujrati..

Manishearth 11y ago
There's a joke in a Marathi children's book, which goes roughly as follows: A: Know why we call our mothers "Aai"? B: No, why? A: The reason is because "aaaaa" is the sound you make when hurt or in trouble, and it's your first instinct to call to your mother for help in such cases. B: Nonsense. Do English-speakers^ say "maaaaaaaa" when hurt? I think Indic languages have almost every permutation of "a" and "m" for "mother" -- we have "Aai", "amma", "maaa", "mamma", ... ^Might have been Hindi speakers, I forget now.